Virtual Wellness Events Are Surging In Popularity

  • According to Eventbrite, nearly twenty thousand online events are currently being published daily.
  • Nearly half of the virtual events consumers are currently attending are health and wellness-related or business and professional events.
  • Zoom has experienced explosive growth, with more than 300 million daily participants currently using its service.
  • In response to the coronavirus pandemic wellness businesses across the globe including Welltodo, Women’s Health, Gympass, Goop, lululemon and adidas are pivoting their in-person events to virtual events.

Recent findings released by event ticketing platform Eventbrite have revealed that nearly half of the virtual events consumers are currently attending are health and wellness-related or business and professional events, such as seminars and workshops. 

In fact, a look at the company’s year-over-year data showed that virtual health and wellness events have experienced a 2,200+ percent increase, while business and professional online events increased by more than 1,100 percent in April 2020 compared to April 2019.

At a time when wellness brands across the globe, including Welltodo, Women’s Health, Live Well, Gympass, Well+Good, Goop, lululemon and adidas are flocking to video streaming and conferencing platforms as a vehicle to host events and keep their isolating audiences engaged, the trend is promising.

Elsewhere the stats around virtual events more generally also paint a colourful picture. Zoom has experienced explosive growth, with more than 300 million daily participants currently using its service — a 50% rise from 200 million daily users at the beginning of March, revealed founder Eric Yuan. Instagram Live has seen a 70% spike in usage compared to its pre-coronavirus metrics. And, according to Eventbrite, nearly twenty thousand online events are currently being published daily — a 2,000+% increase from April 2019.

According to Eventbrite co-founder and CEO Julia Hartz, despite the current health crisis grounding the live experiences economy to a halt, it has been encouraging to see the increase in demand for online experiences, which she argued, shows our timeless need for human connection remains as strong as ever.

“From online seminars to livestream dance parties, this is opening up opportunities for event creators to extend their reach around the world,” said the company.

Virtual Wellness Events Are Surging In Popularity
Image Credit: Allie Smith

And, if the FT’s recent Global Boardroom digital event – which attracted over 25,000 attendees – is anything to go by, with barriers to entry including travel and hefty fees eliminated, the opportunity to innovate, expand reach and generate new business is one worth leveraging — even after the world eases back into normality.

“It’s inspiring to see the innovative ways creators are leveraging our platform to deliver on our innate need to connect,” continued Hartz. “We expect online experiences will continue to play a big role in events post-pandemic, and we’re committed to helping our creators succeed with any event format, whether in-person or virtual.”

But as with in-person events, not all virtual events are created equally — with poor execution, uninspiring content and a lack of social integration hampering their success. So what’s the key to creating a next-gen virtual event that ticks all the boxes?

Fab Giovanetti, founder of  Creative Impact Co — a platform helping creatives grow their audience and monetise their content through marketing, strategy and collaborations — has worked with thousands of clients over the past 8 years to adapt their businesses to the online world. Here she shares her key takeaways for creating a successful virtual event that keeps people watching.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL VIRTUAL EVENT

Timing is everything. Going live when your followers or audience are most active is one of the easiest ways to make your virtual events more successful. Take a look at your analytics to figure out the habits of your audience, and see which days and times they are free to engage. By making events easy to access and schedule relevant more people are likely to tune in.

Plan a clear structure. One of the best ways to plan any digital event is to think of it as having an introduction, core content, and a closure. Create a clear and simple structure that works for you and doesn’t confuse or overcomplicated things for your audience.

Keep participants engaged. Regardless of the platform, interaction is key. Zoom can be beneficial as it’s intuitive to use, allows you to collect registration and can work for big or small groups alike. It’s great that you can see people and have video chats, as it’s key to keep participants engaged. Making time for questions, feedback, networking and other forms of integration will help to make it feel like participants are all in the same room.

Provide Practical Takeaways. Integrating actionable insights into your virtual events are a great way to add value and keep your audience engaged both during and post-event. And don’t forget to repurpose your content — clips can be shared across multiple platforms to provide key takeaways in different formats, and to reach an even wider audience.